From 14 to 16 November, an impactful face-to-face event for Public Involvement was organised by Alzheimer Europe in Luxembourg. The collaborative event brought together the members of six EU-funded projects, all of which are working on different aspects of brain health and dementia research, to collaborate in a series of multi-project consultations. The first consultation held in 14 November gathered 17 members of the EU-FINGERS, LETHE and Multi-MeMo Advisory Boards who met for the very first time in person. Members came from nine European countries (Austria, Finland, Hungary, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, UK) to discuss topics around multidomain interventions to reduce dementia risk and communication tools for discussing risk of dementia with patients. AE Project Officer Ana Diaz extended a warm welcome to all delegates, emphasised the importance of their presence and the pleasant spirit driving the meeting. Then, Sean Sapcariu provided valuable insights into the Luxembourg National Research Fund (FNR), the main funder of research activities in Luxembourg. Next, Francesca Mangialasche and Anna Rosenberg took the floor to provide a comprehensive update on the EU-FINGERS and LETHE projects. They reminded the aims and mission of each project and both emphasised the pivotal role of the Advisory Board members as essential partners to guide and influence relevant decisions on how the research activities are conducted. The heart of the consultation unfolded through four workshops in small groups, facilitated by Anna Rosenberg, Leonie Visser, Tanja de Rijke and Heleen Hendriksen and co-facilitated by Francesca Mangialasche, Ana Diaz, Cindy Birck and Mariagnese Barbera. Members were engaged in dynamic discussions, exchanging thoughts and ideas on: 1) social activities in digital multi-domain interventions; 2) information needs on future Alzheimer’s disease medication; 3) a new tool to help patients and supporters to share personal information and 4) the implementation of tools to support preparation for memory clinic consultations. Mariagnese Barbera concluded the event by presenting the overarching goals of the Multi-MeMo project and highlighting the continuity of Public Involvement work from EU-FINGERS to Multi-MeMo. The project partners would like to extend their heartfelt gratitude to all members of the Advisory Boards for their engagement, commitment and invaluable contributions. “I knew I was going to assist in an important event, but once I was in it, I realised that the meeting was far beyond my expectations. I think that this first experience of gathering Advisory Board members of different projects was a successful experiment of Public Involvement in research on brain health and hope that it will be repeated.”, said Miriam, member of the LETHE Advisory Board. EU-FINGERS and Multi-MeMo are supported by the Luxembourg National Research Fund (INTER/JPND/19/14012609/EU-FINGERS; INTER/JPND22/17107181/Multi-MeMo) under the aegis of the EU Joint Programme - Neurodegenerative Disease Research (JPND) - https://www.jpnd.eu
The LETHE project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 101017405.
